


All It Takes is One Candle to Dispel Darkness

by L_R_Walsh



Series: TLOU Oneshots [5]
Category: The Last of Us (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Eventual Fluff, F/F, Joel is mentioned, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-13 00:40:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29019846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/L_R_Walsh/pseuds/L_R_Walsh
Summary: Ellie explores the idea of being a parent while wandering the theater after her fight with Dina.
Relationships: Dina/Ellie (The Last of Us)
Series: TLOU Oneshots [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2127849
Comments: 2
Kudos: 66





	All It Takes is One Candle to Dispel Darkness

Ellie takes a deep breath, the stale dusty air of the theater filling her lungs as she wanders the dark and musty theater, with its chipped walls and peeling paint, that she and Dina stumbled into. The pattering of the rain can be heard throughout the theater, but it is completely drowned out by the ringing silence that followed her fight with Dina. She had found the exactly wrong thing to say. The words she threw at Dina rattling around in her head on a loop as she makes her way past the piles of covered furniture, heading deeper into the theater, past the counter in the lobby and up to the balcony level. 

“Fucking pregnant” Ellie mutters to herself as she climbs the stairs. She was prepared for her to be sick, but pregnant? How could Dina keep something like that to herself? Where’s the trust? Had she done anything that would make Dina think she can’t come to her with things? Ellie gets lost in thought, playing back the day’s previous conversations while checking the upper level, looking for supplies, any infected, any non-inflected. 

She finds a small camp set up overlooking the lobby below. There’s a pile of cushions surrounded by chairs with curtains draped over them to make a fort. Looks live someone’s been living here long term. The note she finds among their stuff, however, is dated several months back. Hopefully they aren’t around anymore. 

Their makeshift fort reminds her of like the ones she and Dina used to make when they’d have sleepovers and play video games. Ellie cracks a smile at the memory, but looking back over the balcony to see Dina laying down on the couch facing away from her, it immediately falls again. Where does this leave them? The sound of soft sniffling carries up to where Ellie watches over Dina. Ellie’s frown deepens, brow furrowed in a pained expression. Guilt and shame rising up painfully in her chest, a familiar sensation these days, but now with a new cause. Releasing a breath, Ellie continues her walk-through to secure the theater, she owes Dina that much, a safe place to rest. 

Venturing past the ‘Employees Only’ door, she climbs a short set of stairs and finds the storage lockers and shelves of spray bottles and assorted cleaning supplies and a closed door on the left. A corded yellow cable leads down the small hallway to the right where a window is slightly ajar. Ellie goes over to glance out the window, the rain is still steadily coming down. Hopefully there’s a generator out there, and hopefully the rain hasn’t rusted it through. Not wanting to go back out into the rain if she doesn’t have to, Ellie turns back towards the closed door, hoping to find a fuse box. Instead, the room is filled with so much old world tech and equipment. Shelves are filled with film reels, the large, bulky projectors are pushed to one side of the room, there’s a table covered in buttons, dials, and switches, she’s not sure what all of it does. The radio catches her eye, at least this is something she recognizes. 

Turning the switches and dials however does nothing, either the radio is dead or needs power. At least the note on top of the radio confirms there used to be electricity. Ellie moves the radio towards her and across the desk to examine it, looking to make sure it’s plugged in. A ring of keys fall from the desk onto the floor by her feet. 

“Hmm, wonder what these go to”, Ellie says as she bends to pick them up and pocket them. The radio looks plugged in, the chord doesn’t look frayed. With the radio not turning on, Ellie resigns herself to going back out into the rain to find the generator. 

The window creaks slightly when pushing it aside to climb out on to the grated platform. The rain quickly soaks her again, just as she was starting to get dry. Climbing up the ladder to the roof, she’s glad to see that the generator isn’t out in the open like those at the Main and Fuck Fedra gates, but in a small room. The skeleton in here must be that guy from the note, at least she knows where he is, not a threat anymore to her and Dina. She hopes Mr. Fried-Guy is the only one here and that no one comes looking for him. With how old the note was this place seems abandoned. 

Even covered, this generator is showing its age. It takes several tries to get it to sputter to life. She grimaces at the sparks coming from the open fuse box the dead Fedra soldier had been putzing with. They aren’t going to be staying here for too long, it just needs to hold out for another couple of days. Then again, with Dina now sick, who knows who long they may need to stay here. Probably not best to stay in one place too long, the lights might attract the WLF. They haven’t seen any since the tunnels. Ellie takes a moment to survey the street from the roof. This area surrounding the theater looks thankfully abandoned. She can’t hear any trucks or distant gunshots. Wherever the tunnels spat them out at, they are out of the way of the WLF. It’s all she can hope for for now.

Climbing down the ladder, the high pitched static carries over through the window. Best to turn that down, even if they’re far from the WLF, those dogs they have could definitely pick this up. Ellie shivers as she steps in from the rain, closing the window as much as possible. Any cheer she had over hearing the radio on is dashed as she fiddles with the dials again. She hits it in frustration, the damn thing is busted!

Letting out an aggravated sign, Ellie heads out and back down stairs. Keys in hand, she opens the large double doors near the back of the main lobby. The once opulent theater, it’s many rows of fading red velvet chairs, bring a look of awe to her face as she glances around taking in the theater. She imagines coming to see a movie or concert, and wonders what that could’ve been like. To sit and enjoy a dumb movie with friends or family without a care in the world. Joel would’ve loved this place, she wishes she could see a movie with him here. Man, that would’ve been something else. What life would she have led in the old world? Certainly not one as blood-soaked as this one. 

She wanders up to the stage, looking at the set equipment mixed with stacked old Fedra supply crates, and walks past the curtains. More old sound equipment and creepy mannequins await her backstage. The guitar case takes her by surprise. 

“No way”, Ellie gasps in awe. Opening the old case, the guitar is dusty, but looks in surprisingly good shape. She wonders how long it’s been sitting here, did it belong to one of the Sick Habit band members?

Ellie gingerly removes the guitar from the case and goes to sit in the front row of the theater. Ellie sets her pack aside, dusts off the guitar and starts playing where she left off in the record store. 

“If I ever where to loose you..I’d surely loose myself”

Joel had tried to provide her the best life possible back when they first got to Jackson, would she be able to provide that to her kid. She catches herself. Can she be a mother? Does she even want that? How can you know if you’re ready? She wishes she could pick Joel’s brain on parenting, wishes she didn’t feel so lost. He had said he was young when he said he had Sarah, how do you adjust when the world feels like it’s been turned on its axis. 

Dina’s words replay in her mind, “Don’t worry, it’s not yours”. Ellie knows that Dina had been joking, trying to break the tension, but what if she really did see it as not hers? Does Dina not want her with her to help parent a kid? Does she even want to keep it? Immediately her stomach plummets at the thought of Dina leaving her. Ellie’s never given much thought to the future, certainly not to being a mother, but Dina, she’s so full of hope and constantly dreaming of tomorrow. She’d see this as a gift. And maybe it is, proof of every tomorrow, proof of a future, one that they can have together. 

Ellie thinks back to their conversation about moving out to a farm, raising cows and sheep, and tries adding a kid to that picture. She tries to see it through Dina’s eyes, full of hope. Ellie thinks of getting woken up by a small body tackling her awake, too early as usual, sun not even fully risen yet. They’d excitedly chatter away completely oblivious to their mother’s tiredness. Ellie grumbling awake, pretending to be irritated, telling their kid to get dressed for the day and sharing a small smile with Dina when their boundless energy on two legs runs off downstairs. 

Ellie quietly strums the guitar, thinking of passing on what she knows to the next generation. They could even start their own band, with Dina on the drums. Ellie huffs a laugh at the thought. She had never pictured herself as a mother, but thinking on it now, it feels kinda nice, and she would be doing it with Dina. She loves Dina, and if this is what Dina wants she’ll support her- whatever and however that looks like.

“Burden” echos through her mind again. With the initial shock of the revelation now worn off, Ellie shifts uncomfortably in her chair, not sure what to do to make amends with Dina. She had lost Joel, pushed him away really, and now she feels she’s on the brink of losing Dina. 

Ellie sets the guitar aside, resting it against the seat next to her. She climbs back on stage and removes one of the clothe drapes from atop the stacked crates and shakes out the dust. Ellie coughs as dust billows around her, there was much more dust settled on the canvas sheet than she realized. The worn sheet, now removed of most of the dust, is otherwise clean and surprisingly soft given the material. It’s become almost cottony with age. Adjusting the straps of her backpack on her shoulders and folding the sheet in her arms she makes her way back up the slope of the theater and steps into the lobby. 

Ellie stands across the theater lobby, looking over at Dina, bulky sheet in her arms. Dina has her back to her, she looks like she could be asleep. She’s curled up, maybe from the cold rain, maybe from the pain. Probably both. Ellie takes a deep steadying breath, slowly exhales and walks towards Dina.

Ellie drapes the folded curtain over Dina, tucking it around her, trying to keep her warm. Dina shifts slightly to look at Ellie over her shoulder, her eyes are red and swollen from crying. Ellie swallows the lump in her throat. 

“Hey…I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you, didn’t want you to get cold”, Ellie’s hand hovers over Dina’s shoulder, not sure if she should reach out, but desperate for any connection, “I’m sorry about earlier. That was..”, Ellie struggles to find the right words but settles with, “so stupid. I’ll- um, I’ll let you rest”.

Ellie begins to retreat but stops at Dina’s faint whisper, her voice thick from crying. 

“Ellie, wait”, Dina looks down and plays with the frayed edges of the tattered canvas, choking back tears, “I’m so, so mad at you”, Dina pauses, glancing away from Ellie and lets out a frustrated huff, “but I really don’t want to be alone right now”. Dina pulls back the covers and pats the spot between her and the back of the sofa, “lay down with me please”. 

“Ok”, Ellie pauses before setting down her backpack at the foot of the couch and maneuvers over Dina to lie next to her facing her. As Dina wraps the makeshift blanket around both of them, Ellie tentatively reaches out to tuck a stray hair behind Dina’s ear.

“Can I hold you”, Ellie whispers, afraid to speak any louder, scared to disturb this truce Dina has extended.

Dina, unable to withhold the swell of tears any loner, lets out a sob, “Please”, and clutches Ellie’s shirt as Ellie’s arms wrap around her and draw her near. Dina leans into her touch, burying her face in the crook of her neck. “I don’t want to lose you” Dina takes several steadying breathes, “does this change anything for you?” 

Ellie leans back to look at Dina, “yes”. She reaches out to caress Dina’s cheek and as more tears escape, she wipes them away. “Joel used to say that you keep finding something to fight for. And, well, you keep giving me reasons to keep on fighting. Dina, we’re a family, at least I’d like us to be. I’m not gonna give that up. Part of me knows he’d want me to leave”. 

“And the other part?”, Dina prompts. 

“She took so much from me, and I don’t know why she did it. I don’t know if it would change anything knowing that. I- Want to see her suffer just as much. But…” Ellie trails off , looking up out towards the theater lobby lost in thought. 

Dina reaches up to bring Ellie eye to eye with her, Dina giving her a searching gaze, and again prompts, “but?”

Ellie’s arms tighten around Dina and looking into her eyes, “she hasn’t taken everything, and I don’t want to give her the opportunity. I love you and I don’t want to lose you either. I don’t know what I would do if I did. So tomorrow I’m going to go out and find Tommy, bring him back and we leave for Jackson as soon as we can.” 

“Are you sure? We came all this way for you.”

“And we can go all the way back for you.”

“What if Tommy refuses to leave, what if he wants to see it through?”

Ellie places her hand on Dina’s belly, “this comes first”.

Dina pulls Ellie close, bringing her in for a soft kiss. 

“Now, we need you rested up. Let’s get some sleep” 

Dina scoots even closer to Ellie, cuddled close under their blanket, she sleepily mutters, “You’re infuriating, you know that?”

Ellie kisses the top of Dina’s head, “yeah, I know. I, um, found a guitar in the backstage of the theater, why don’t I play you a song over breakfast in the morning to make it up to you?” 

Dina smiles, “Three songs, and I get to pick”.

Ellie smirks, “Deal” 

They snuggle into one another and let the soft sounds of the rain lull them to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Ellie loves Dina, she's just obtuse sometimes.
> 
> Thanks for reading! You can find me on tumblr as elliesjournals!


End file.
